Plan your information governance: Use our new services checklist

As a new care service, you have the opportunity to integrate good data and cyber security arrangements from the start. It is much harder to embed this once you have started to take on clients and staff.

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You can download our New Care Services Checklist to plan your approach to information governance, digital technology, data protection and cyber security.

It will help you to consider how to:

• Plan your use of data: what you will store and share, who will have access to it, and how it will be disposed of.
• Tell people how you manage their data and ensure that it is easy to understand
• Plan your tech and paper systems: What you need and what information will be stored or shared on them.
• Consider Wi-Fi and mobile data: What is available and how will you manage usage by staff?
• Manage your IT suppliers: What data do they store or process for you, and how do they keep it safe?
• Manage paper records: How will they be stored, accessed, moved or destroyed?
• Implement secure email: especially for sensitive data
• Allocate responsibilitiesincluding who is the data security and protection lead, and if you need other specialist roles.
• Train and support staffon data protection and cyber security – and keep training up to date
• Create process for managing data breaches and cyber attacks: create and test your business continuity plan
• Be careful with mobile devices: have clear policies for staff use of their own or company devices
• Manage passwords and access: create strong passwords and review who needs access to systems
• Ensure back-ups are in place and test your back-up process
• Consider how staff communicate (e.g. use of messagin services)
• Protect software: keep it up to date, and add anti-virus software
• Agree approach to social media: what can and can’t be shared
• Develop your policies, procedures and contracts: ensure you have key policies in place. Use free Digital Care Hub templates to create your own – and communicate them with staff.

Download our New Services Checklist.